What Matters
by ComeOutOfYourCave
Summary: Three months after Sozin's Comet, Katara is getting tired of Aang being followed around by obsessive fangirls. And she's not the only one. She and Aang don't care that she's two years older, so why should it matter to anyone else? One-shot.


**Hola fanfiction readers! This is my second fanfiction one-shot, so bear with me if you despise it. Back story: I started thinking about how I can't stand it when people say Katara and Aang shouldn't be together because Katara is two years older, so Aang must not be mature enough for her, and lalala. So that's where I got the idea for this story from. Because I mean really, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but do you think Katara would agree with that? Anyway, if you review you're awesome! :) Constructive criticism is also awesome. By the way Leiko means "arrogant" in Japanese. (You'll see.) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: TLA, Bryke does.  
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**But without further ado...**

**What Matters**

**_One-Shot_**

_Three Months After the Finale _

Katara paced through her room in a disgruntled huff, walking back and forth so fast her brown tresses swayed along behind her. Suki was watching her from a dark green armchair, waiting for an explanation. She didn't have to wait long.

"I am sick and tired of those Avatar fangirls following Aang around!" Katara burst out, turning to face Suki at last, her blue eyes flashing. "I mean, I understand he's famous and he saved the world so obviously a lot of people are going to like him, but we can't go anywhere by ourselves without a bunch of makeup-plastered girls trying to hang all over him. They don't even care I'm his girlfriend!" She ranted, throwing her hands into the air. "And when they do care, it's just to tell him he needs someone better. You know what one of them said yesterday? Apparently it's weird that I'm _taller _than him, that I'm two years _older_. She even implied he needed someone his own age, someone like her!" She let out an exasperated sigh and sank down onto the bed. "I'm only thinking of myself, I know. It isn't like a few guys haven't come up to me wanting to get a date with the Avatar's famous waterbending teacher! I shouldn't let it get to me, and I should just enjoy spending time with Aang. But I just had to tell someone."

Suki almost smiled. She and Katara had become best friends over the past few months, and if she knew one thing it was that Katara felt selfish if she wasn't putting everyone else before herself.

"No, you're not. It _is_ hard that Aang's the Avatar. People are going to judge you and think they know what they're talking about, but they don't. But Katara, you love Aang, right?"

Katara looked up and nodded.

"And he loves you. Nothing else really matters." Finished Suki, shrugging.

Katara sighed again. "Thanks, Suki. I hope you're right."

The golden afternoon light was melting into twilight as Aang and Katara walked through the bustling Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se the next day, accompanied by three or four guards. King Kuei had offered to give them more, but neither Aang or Katara liked to walk everywhere flanked by too many bodyguards. It tended to draw more attention than they would have alone.

They found a small diner that looked to be the least crowded and entered. Katara still had half a mind to tell him she wanted to go back and eat at the palace, but they had an important meeting with King Kuei and Zuko tomorrow, and after that they would probably be leaving Ba Sing Se. She knew Aang wanted to spend one last night being a teenager before they had to go back to solving the problems of the world, and she couldn't blame him for that. She wouldn't mind it herself.

They found a seat at a booth near the window, talking and laughing about normal things like Toph's idea about opening a metalbending school and how they would miss Ba Sing Se. Katara had just started to feel relaxed, when she heard the door of the diner clang shut. Three haughty-looking girls walked right up to the table. She bristled. It was one of the girls from yesterday, the one who had implied because she was two years older than Aang they shouldn't be together; and she had brought two equally annoying-looking friends.

"Hi, Avatar Aang," the girl, Leiko, said brightly. "We were just walking by and saw you in the window, so we had to say hi of course." She giggled, her sharp bangs bouncing on her forehead. "So can we join you?"

_Ugh,_ thought Katara. _Why did we get a window seat?_

"Actually," said Aang, sounding weary. _Maybe he's sick of this too, _thought Katara. "I'm eating dinner with my girlfriend."

Katara couldn't help it. She grinned.

Leiko seemed to notice her for the first time, and acknowledged her presence by glaring. "Well, maybe another time, Aang. I'm sure you'd have a lot more fun eating with us than with certain _others_." She giggled and said something to one of her friends, plenty loud enough for Katara and Aang to hear. "She's a little old for him, don't you think?"

Katara opened her mouth angrily, but Aang beat her to it. He was rarely angry, but it looked as if he was trying to keep his temper under control.

"That's _it." _He said. "I'm tired of this. Katara is my girlfriend, I _love _her, and our ages and anything else _does not _matter. I don't even know you!"

Leiko opened her mouth, closed it, then turned and stomped away and back out the door, her friends following close behind.

Aang shook his head. "I tried to ignore her, I really did. I didn't want to be rude. But I can't believe she would say I'd rather eat with them than with you."

The rest of the evening went smoothly, and miraculously they met no pushy fangirls on the way back to the palace. Katara wondered if Leiko had spread the word that Avatar Aang had declared himself off-limits.

Katara smiled to herself, walking side by side with Aang as dusk fell lazily around them. He laced his fingers through hers, his hand fitting there perfectly.

Wherever they were going in the world after this, there were bound to be more girls like Leiko. Katara knew that. But for some reason, right then, it didn't matter. And maybe it never really would matter, as long as they were together. _Suki was right,_ she thought. _There's only one thing that matters._

She squeezed Aang's hand and smiled up at the moon, a bright sliver of light watching them peacefully through the clouds.


End file.
